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Lower Limb Swelling

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Virtually all of us develop a mild degree of swelling in the feet over the course of a day. That’s why foot care experts recommend waiting until the afternoon to shop for shoes: if you do so in the morning, you may find your new footwear is uncomfortably tight-fitting later in the day.

While more pronounced puffiness (known medically as edema) in the feet, ankles and legs can sometimes be similarly benign, they can also sometimes signal serious, and even potentially life-threatening problems. 

For instance, swelling on one side, that evolves rapidly over a day or two — particularly if accompanied by redness, heat, or pain in the leg — hints at the presence of a blood clot in the leg, Called deep vein thrombosis or DVT, this condition strikes approximately 200,000 Canadians per year, affecting one in five of us in the course of a lifetime.

If this happens to you, seek medical attention as soon as possible. These clots can break loose and end up blocking blood vessels in sites such as the lungs (pulmonary embolism or PE), the consequences of which can be deadly. Prompt treatment with blood-thinning medication sharply reduces the risk of PE and other possible complications. 

For more information about some of the causes of swelling in the feet, ankles and legs, and when to suspect it may signal something worrisome, check out this Good Times’ health feature that was originally published in October 2018: Swollen Legs

My heartfelt thanks to the interviewees who so generously shared their time and expertise:

 

Resources

Thrombosis Canada

Image by tatlin Courtesy of Pixabay